Friday, October 16, 2009

Jan Moir, Friday fuckwit

The Daily Mail seems to have excelled itself at nasty homophobic hatefulness today. Yes, I know, what do I expect and yes I know I could fill this blog with rants about it forever more . This article though, is low even set against its daily attacks on women (too thin, too fat, let themselves go, not ageing gracefully, how dare they have a life) and its trumpeting of the values of net curtain land, where all would be well if women got back in the kitchen and LGBT people in the closet. Arghh, my blood pressure is rising as I think about it.

Jan Moir, with no regard for his loved ones at this time and lacking in medical knowledge it seems, decides his death was sleazy and unnatural :

All the official reports point to a natural death, with no suspicious circumstances. The Gately family are - perhaps understandably - keen to register their boy's demise on the national consciousness as nothing more than a tragic accident. Even before the post-mortem and toxicology reports were released by the Spanish authorities, the Gatelys' lawyer reiterated that they believed his sudden death was due to natural causes. But, hang on a minute. Something is terribly wrong with the way this incident has been shaped and spun into nothing more than an unfortunate mishap on a holiday weekend, like a broken teacup in the rented cottage. Consider the way it has been largely reported, as if Gately had gently keeled over at the age of 90 in the grounds of the Bide-a-Wee rest home while hoeing the sweet pea patch. The sugar coating on this fatality is so saccharine-thick that it obscures whatever bitter truth lies beneath. Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again.

This means that Stephen Gately's death was not caused, as some have been speculating, by either alcohol or drugs: he most certainly did not inhale his own vomit.

“There is nothing to indicate the death was caused by alcohol or drugs,” said a spokesman at the Court of Instruction in the island’s capital.The official denied earlier reports that the star may have choked to death on his own vomit. “That did not cause his death,” she said.“Preliminary results of the autopsy found acute pulmonary oedema indicating Stephen Gately died of natural causes.”Medical experts said such a finding was common in those who had suffered a fatal heart attack.

Obviously it's sad that he died and slightly mystifying to us all that someone so young and apparently healthy can simply fall over dead, one minute to the next. But it does indeed happen as it has done here.

Now the headline states "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death." The facts dispute this,so what is her point , what is 'unnatural'? Well she goes on to show that gay men cannot live happily ever after :

Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this. All that has been established so far is that Stephen Gately was not murdered. And I think if we are going to be honest, we would have to admit that the circumstances surrounding his death are more than a little sleazy. After a night of clubbing, Cowles and Gately took a young Bulgarian man back to their apartment. It is not disrespectful to assume that a game of canasta with 25-year-old Georgi Dochev was not what was on the cards. Cowles and Dochev went to the bedroom together while Stephen remained alone in the living room.

So fucking what. They had an open relationship, they seemed to have been honest and not sneaking around or lying to each other. Lots of so-called monogamous heterosexual couples 'cheat' on one another. That to me is sleazy.

Even when presented with medical evidence, Moir just keeps on :

A post-mortem revealed Stephen died from acute pulmonary oedema, a build-up of fluid on his lungs. Gately's family have always maintained that drugs were not involved in the singer's death, but it has just been revealed that he at least smoked cannabis on the night he died.

Again, he smoked a joint , so fucking what. He did not die with a needle in his arm, from the medical reports drugs did not play a role. In Moir's world perhaps no one sips more than a sweet sherry, but sorry a few joints does not make him sleazy and does not appear to have lead to his death.

Oh but she leaves the best, or should that be worst, to last :

Another real sadness about Gately's death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships. Gay activists are always calling for tolerance and understanding about same-sex relationships, arguing that they are just the same as heterosexual marriages. Not everyone, they say, is like George Michael. Of course, in many cases this may be true. Yet the recent death of Kevin McGee, the former husband of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and now the dubious events of Gately's last night raise troubling questions about what happened.

Well first off , just like heterosexual people, relationships come in all shapes and sizes. Some LGBT people may want a monogamous civil partnership and there are plenty of happy ones around. Lets not though hold up heterosexual marriage as some perfect institution, that just by fancying the opposite sex you lead a life of idyllic bliss. There can be abuse, violence, divorce, 'cheating' and lying in any relationship .

Some LGBT people, and some heterosexual people, don't want to follow the idealised model of marriage and lead more 'unconventional' lives. They though are able to love and care for each other. Its not sleazy , whatever that means anyway.

How does the death of Stephen and Kevin in any way 'raise troubling questions?' Kevin seems to have had drug problems and the relationship broke down because of them. News flash, that happens to heterosexual people as well.

How was Stephen's death 'dubious' and in what way was it linked to his relationship ? Where are her facts that civil partnerships lead to a 'sleazy' death ?

Oh and gay people wanting tolerance and understanding , well not from this unpleasant woman.

It is important that the truth comes out about the exact circumstances of his strange and lonely death. As a gay rights champion, I am sure he would want to set an example to any impressionable young men who may want to emulate what they might see as his glamorous routine. For once again, under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see.

What truth is she wanting ? The medical facts seem to have been established, so what else needs to be known? Ahh, muck racking and some sort of proof that 'unnatural' relationships lead to 'sleazy' deaths.

And how was his death 'strange' and 'lonely?' It has been established that sudden deaths do occur in healthy people. How was he lonely, he was on holiday with his partner ? Again, facts seem not to be a priority here.

The facts show this to have been a tragic death, I don't believe the death certificate states being gay or in a civil partnership as its cause .